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Living hell: Family of former inmate sues Washington State's largest psychiatric hospital over horrific conditions and abuse

Western State Hospital Lakewood WA
Behind tall brick walls and secure windows, hundreds of patients at Washington state's largest psychiatric hospital live in conditions that fail U.S. health and safety standards, while overworked nurses and psychiatrists say they are navigating a system that punishes employees who speak out despite critical staffing shortages.

"They don't have enough staff to protect patients, or provide them with the bare minimum of care," said Lisa Bowser, whose mother spent two years at Western State Hospital and suffered dozens of falls and assaults.

"Going there was like going into hell," said Bowser, who has sued the state-run facility. "I honestly thought they would kill her before I could get her out."

U.S. and state regulators for years have found health and safety violations at the 800-bed hospital, ranging from assaults on staff to escapes of dangerous patients, including a man accused of torturing a woman to death. Even after that 2016 escape, a nursing supervisor told The Associated Press that a patient who had been charged with murder and found not guilty by reason of insanity was placed in a less secure ward and the nurse faced retaliation after reporting the danger to non-violent patients.

Black Magic

Putin-phobia: A game both US political parties can play

Putin
© Presidential Press Service/Wikimedia/CCPresident Vladimir Putin
Hawks and doves in Washington agree Vlad is bad. Can Trump act as the lone realist?

Few issues generate a bipartisan response in Washington. President Donald Trump's upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin is one.

Democrats who once pressed for détente with the Soviet Union act as if Trump will be giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Neoconservatives and other Republican hawks are equally horrified, having pressed for something close to war with Moscow since the latter's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Both sides act as if the Soviet Union has been reborn and Cold War has restarted.

Russia's critics present a long bill of requirements to be met before they would relax sanctions or otherwise improve relations. Putin could save time by agreeing to be an American vassal.

Comment: Mr. Bandow's heart is in the right place, but many of his assertions are wrong. Moscow will deal with Washington based on reality, not perception. That includes a courteous, but healthy dose of scepticism for any promises made by the US.


Newspaper

Massachusetts State Senator introduces 'NASTY Women' Bill ahead of Trump's Supreme Court pick out of fear of Roe v. Wade overturn

Nasty women act
Liberals are petrified that President Donald J. Trump's Supreme Court pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy could wind up being the deciding vote needed to overturn Roe v. Wade and send the issue of abortion back to the states. One Massachusetts state senator recently introduced what she calls the 'NASTY Women Act' in an attempt to ensure that abortion remains legal and previously unenforced state laws do not block access for women seeking abortions.

In January, Interim State Senate President Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) introduced the Negating Archaic Statutes Targeting Young Women bill -aka 'NASTY Women' - to prevent Massachusetts laws such as an outright ban on abortion from being reinforced should the Supreme Court ruling Roe be overturned. The law would negate any previous Massachusetts law overturned by Roe v. Wade and subsequent High Court rulings.

Comment: Are Democrats fears legitimate or is this yet another attempt to keep control of the left and through them further fan the flames between the liberals and conservatives? Cui bono?


Red Flag

Las Vegas PD accused of ignoring former gang member's admission of complicity in Tupac Shakur murder

A former gang member with cancer has admitted on TV that he was an accessory to murder in the killing of Tupac Shakur and police have not acted.
Keffe D murder Tupac Shakir
“I was a Compton kingpin, drug dealer, I’m the only one alive who can really tell you story about the Tupac killing”
After 22 years of mystery and missed opportunities by the Las Vegas Police Department and the FBI, the killer of Tupac Shakur may finally be unmasked. New leads were brought to light in two recent documentaries which could potentially reveal the identity of the shooter who has managed to fly under the radar for decades.

In the films, Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G, and Death Row Chronicles, former gang member Keffe D admitted that he was in the front seat of the infamous White Cadilac that pulled up on Tupac and Suge Knight and sprayed their BWM with bullets.

Keffe is only coming forward now because he has cancer and feels that he has nothing to lose.

"I was a Compton kingpin, drug dealer, I'm the only one alive who can really tell you story about the Tupac killing," Keffe said. "People have been pursuing me for 20 years, I'm coming out now because I have cancer. And I have nothing else to lose. All I care about now is the truth."

Keffe claimed that a person in the back seat fired the shots, and although he knows the identity of the shooter, he will not break "street code" and release their name to the public or the police.

"Going to keep it for the code of the streets. It just came from the backseat, bro," Keffe said.

Comment: See also: Who killed Tupac? New Netflix doc claims it finally has the answer


Bullseye

Florida man punched in the face over Trump flag in his front yard

trump flag
© WPTV
A fun night of fireworks was ruined for a Boynton Beach man. Jeff Good says he was attacked for having a President Trump flag in his yard.

Good said he was watching fireworks in his driveway when someone drove in front of his house and started yelling at him about President Trump.

"He was saying vile things about our president," said Good.

The driver of the car then told Good he had to remove his flag. When Good told him no, he said the driver punched him in the face.

Good said he instinctively tried to punch the man back, but the man drove off with Good's arm stuck in the car, and Good was then dragged for about 30 feet.

Beer

Drunken sea birds? Charity blames breweries for turning seagulls into boozehounds

Seagull
© Max Rossi / Reuters
Stumbling around after one drink too many may not be just a distinctly human habit. In fact, if animal welfare activists are to be believed, it's one we share with seagulls in England's sunny southwest.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has received a number of complaints about seemingly drunk seagulls vomiting and failing to walk straight around the beaches of Devon, Dorset and Somerset - and officials from the charity are pinning the blame on local breweries for getting them soused.

Books

Reading isn't fundamental: Court rules that Detroit students have no right to literacy access

Jamarria Hall
© Doug CoombeJamarria Hall, plaintiff in the literacy rights lawsuit dismissed on Friday.
On Friday, dumped out with the least desirable news of the week came word that a lawsuit arguing that Detroit students were being denied an education had been dismissed.

Perhaps you remember the case. MT presented a cover story about it last year. With the help of a public interest law firm, a handful of Detroit students charged in federal court that educational officials in Michigan - including Gov. Rick Snyder - denied them access to an education of any quality.

The lawsuit took pains to illustrate how Detroit's schools - run under a state-appointed emergency manager - were a welter of dysfunction: overcrowded classrooms, lack of textbooks and basic materials, unqualified staff, leaking roofs, broken windows, black mold, contaminated drinking water, rodents, no pens, no paper, no toilet paper, and unsafe temperatures that had classes canceled due to 90-degree heat or classrooms so cold students could see their breath.

At times, without teachers or instructional materials, students were simply herded into rooms and asked to watch videos. One student claimed to have learned all the words to the film Frozen in high school. The lawsuit even mentions one eighth grade student who "taught" a seventh and eighth grade math class for a month because no teacher could be found.

Comment: America's public schools are, on the whole, a joke. They don't even go through the trouble of hiding it now.


Biohazard

All the old questions re-emerge as novichok strikes (but doesn't kill) again

amesbury novichok
© Henry Nicholls / ReutersPolice officers guard outside a branch of Boots pharmacy in Amesbury, UK
Four months to the day after the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter kicked off a massive blame game and diplomatic crisis, there's a new chemical incident in the UK. According to officials, it's Novichok all over again.

Two people, this time a British couple in their 40s with no link to Russian intelligence, were affected by a chemical substance on Saturday. Four days later, the UK's counter-terrorism chief said the chemical that hit them was the same that sent former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, into a coma in early March. Back then, it took mere hours for the UK government to pin the blame on Moscow and unleash a massive diplomatic offensive together with its allies. Moscow, still waiting for compelling evidence to be produced, has been shut out of the investigation, and it has raised a number of questions about the poisoning - none of which have been answered.

Comment:


Propaganda

Met police block pro-Trump rally while Sadiq Khan permits anti-Trump blimp ahead of visit

trump sadiq
AN UPCOMING Pro-Trump Rally in London has been effectively BANNED by the Met, Politicalite can exclusively reveal.

Met Police informed the organiser of a planned Pro-Trump rally on July 14th that the force had applied for an 'effective ban on pro-Trump activism' in London via the Public Order Act.

A Met Police Liason Officer told the rallies organiser via email: "RE Your proposal to rally at the US Embassy, Nine Elms Lane and march to Whitehall on Saturday, July 14th, A file for Sec 12 and 14 Public Order Act conditions is now being prepared for the Assistant Commissioner and will be submitted for consideration in the next few days."

Luke Nash-Jones, who runs campaign group 'Make Britain Great Again' and describes himself as 'An activist who hates grooming gangs and political correctness.' exclusively spoke to Politicalite.

Comment: Why has the green light has been given for a giant caricature of a baby looking Trump to fly over London during the Donald's visit, but a pro-Trump protest is apparently being blocked? The UK seems to be following in the footsteps of the US establishment in allowing Trump to be smeared while censoring his supporters. That may be because what Trump has to say and what may be to come, especially with his visit to see Putin, has the establishment quite worried:


Laptop

Pushing back: Wisconsin Supreme Court rules conservative Marquette professor wrongly fired for blog post

Professor John McAdams
© Associated PressWisconsin Supreme Court sides with Professor John McAdams
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Marquette University wrongly fired a professor for opinions he posted on a personal blog.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Marquette University improperly fired Professor John McAdams for a blog post he made in 2014. The blog post featured a pointed criticism of a graduate teaching instructor who told students that certain issues like gay rights were not up for debate. McAdams was suspended from his job indefinitely as a result of the blog post.

On Friday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered McAdams immediate reinstatement to his post at Marquette University.

Comment: Is the tide turning on the SJWs? Will they finally have to endure hearing views that don't match their own? The horror!